How much RAM? 2GB? 4GB?

I just ordered a macbook pro yesterday and will finalize the order today. I'm still debating on whether or not to get the additional 2GB of RAM for a total of 4GB. Is 4GB overkill? Will I really be able to tell a difference, or should I just stick with 2GB? Coming from the Windows XP world, I'm a little paranoid about not having enough RAM. My old Windows machine had 1GB and it still seemed to run a tad slow.... Please advise! Thanks in advance!

fuzzyjon79 said:

I just ordered a macbook pro yesterday and will finalize the order today. I'm still debating on whether or not to get the additional 2GB of RAM for a total of 4GB. Is 4GB overkill? Will I really be able to tell a difference, or should I just stick with 2GB? Coming from the Windows XP world, I'm a little paranoid about not having enough RAM. My old Windows machine had 1GB and it still seemed to run a tad slow.... Please advise! Thanks in advance!

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Get the 4 GB. I know that some will tell that you don't need it, but if you are the type to run multiple apps at once, including VMWare (or Parallels) with Windows, you will not regret it.

I'm going to order with 2GB and then do my own upgrade for about 1/3 the price from Apple. It's a user upgradeable thing and you don't have to grab your ankles for Apple to have another shot at you..

As Big-Foot said, DO NOT pay Apple for the upgrade to 4GB. I didn't. I still have the 2GB, but soon I'll be able to afford the 4GB and I'll install it myself. Then, you can also try to sell the 2 1GB sticks to someone with a MacBook. You could make some of the money spent back and that's always a cool thing.

I just upgraded to 4.0GB, and I bought my new RAM at

http://eshop.macsales.com/MyOWC/Upgrades.cfm?model=266&type=Memory&TI=1138&shoupgrds=Show+Upgrades

fo $125 for 4.0GB! Seems to me that RAM is getting a lot cheaper. Apple sells their 4GB upgrade for $700, what a joke.

Do the 4gb upgrade your self. New egg has a good deal on 2x2gb ram.

MacBook Ram

I just purchased the 2.2ghz White MacBook. I upgraded ram from 1 to 4gb and it is great. I can run Parallels, Bluetooth internet, and a few other programs with little to no lag.
I got a deal from Newegg.com 2x2gb for only $84.99 normally $125. I don't know if I would suggest a total of 4gb, or only 2 in the future, when I go to the dashboard where I am using istatpro to monitor the hardware, it seems like its only using half of the ram anyway. Either way, the upgrade has definitely helped.

Listen, the mantra has always been "max the processor, scrimp on the RAM."
The processor is practically impossible to upgrade, while RAM is expendable, easy to upgrade, and so cheap (except from Apple).

get a 4gb kit, you won't regret it. I went from 2gb to 4gb and the system really runs faster if you run multiple applications at the same time. As mentioned by others, do not get the ram from Apple ($700 is real joke). I got mine from Kingston for $96 + shipping. I'm sure you can get it for cheaper, but just be careful to buy a good brand.

Enjoy your Macbook Pro!!!

Great information here. I am soon-to-be a new MacBook Pro user as I am ready to buy it online now. However I had a few last minute questions, mainly about upgrading the RAM from 2GB to 4GB. It seems from the feedback here, the consensus is definitely NOT to upgrade thru Apple and to buy it later from a 3rd party vendor. (The upgrade on Apple's website is $360). If you're curious what I'll mainly be doing with the MacBook Pro - I do a lot of photography and will be working with lots of high resolution images (image sizes are often about 5MB's each). I'm having Aperture 2 pre-installed so that's mainly it - Digital Photography, I'm sure I'll often be playing music with iTunes, and using the Internet (often having them all running at once).

So, reassure me that I should not bother buying the upgrade from Apple and to get it at a later date (if necessary) thru a 3rd party site at 1/3rd the price (I've seen the upgrade for about $90 - which sounds way better than $360) ...AND do I really need it at this point since 2GB might very well be just fine for what I'll be doing???

Thanks for the help. Like I said I'll be a first time Mac owner so coming from the ever-so-frustrating world of PC's, Windows, and Microsoft software, I'm really looking forward to this. Thanks again.

Nick

I have 2 GB of RAM in my Mac book pro and I have no problems whatsoever.

Unless you frequently used up 2 GB of RAM, then there is not much point in getting any more.

The point is you can get 4GB for about $100 these days, and you can sell the 2x1GB's for $30 or so. You get 2GB for ~$70.

Heck, I got the overpriced Mac version Corsair 4GB upgrade pack and it was a crazy $114 total. I've seen such kits without the Mac officialness for $75.

2GB RAM to 4GB RAM

Thanks for the replies "imme" and "SubZero". I went ahead and ordered it with the 2GB. Thanks again.

I too am considering ordering a Macbook Pro (13") I'm confused about what has been said regarding the price of adding an extra 2 MB (for a total of 4). On the order page it is showing it is only an extra $100. Am I misunderstanding?

OK, now I see that the other posts were from quite a while ago. Apparently the cost of adding RAM has dropped considerably.

stangeter said:

I too am considering ordering a Macbook Pro (13") I'm confused about what has been said regarding the price of adding an extra 2 MB (for a total of 4). On the order page it is showing it is only an extra $100. Am I misunderstanding?

OK, now I see that the other posts were from quite a while ago. Apparently the cost of adding RAM has dropped considerably.

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If you want to upgrade the RAM order your MBP with the bare minimum then DONT buy it through 
I recommend OWC-Macsales.  like to charge exuberant prices and you are better off going through a 3rd party, as the one i linked you too ....

Cheers